Unpopular: Atlantic City Is Reducing Road From 4 Lanes To 2 Lanes

It is called “The Road Diet.”

In Atlantic City, New Jersey, it will reduce a heavily traveled road (Atlantic Avenue) and reduce it from a 4 lane configuration to just 2 lanes, one in each direction.

This is a colossally bad idea for many reasons.

The project is underway and it comes as a surprise to many leaders who thought that they had stopped this bad idea from happening.

More than 20 million visitors come to Atlantic City each and every year.

Reducing Atlantic Avenue to only 2 lanes will have a negative impact in so many ways.

Imagine police cars, fire trucks and ambulances trying to get through? How will deliveries occur? With only one lane in each direction, it won’t take much to create a log jam at every turn.

Also, clients are always being dropped off at the Atlantic County Social Services Board at Tennessee and Atlantic Avenues. This is going to be a big problem for them and traffic will be slowed each and every time they are dropping someone off and picking-up.

When there is an accident, there will be no buffer to keep things moving.

There are some good things about this project that is currently underway.

The road desperately needs to be resurfaced. It’s been neglected for far too long.

Traffic light synchronization is also scheduled to finally take place as part of this project.

Atlantic City traffic lights have been horrificly bad for many years. Each traffic light changes just in time to lead you to the next red light.

A total of $ 24 million in combined state and federal funding was obtained to do this project.

The residents of the Great City of Atlantic City have been asking for us to pave Atlantic Avenue and have been asking for safety improvements in the city, and we are accomplishing both through our 'Road Diet' project, said Mayor Marty Small. A lot of powerful people tried to stop this project, but the Small administration wanted to fight for our residents, and get this work done, without costing the taxpayers anything. Our residents and visitors deserve not only clean and safe streets, but smooth streets as well.

Small never misses an opportunity to act out in a very small way.

The reason that so many people were against this road diet scheme is because they believe that it is bad for Atlantic City.

Small is declaring victory as he pursues a bad idea, with still unknown ramifications that will play out, especially during the busy summer season.

The so called “Road Diet” will take place from Maine Avenue to Tennessee Avenue.

The paving is underway now, it will be followed by synchronization of the traffic lights and striping during Phase I … which is expected to be completed before the end of next week, Friday, December 22, 2023.